Guilford, Connecticut Residents Accuse Pro-CRT School Board Candidates of Illegally Mass Mailing Absentee Ballot Applications By Caroline Downey
Amid the heated school board fight over critical race theory that has roiled the sleepy town of Guilford, Conn., community members are alleging that Democratic and independent school board candidates mailed illegitimate absentee ballot applications to constituents.
Five parents new to the local politics scene are running on the GOP ticket for the school board after twice defeating three Republican incumbents, who they claim had earned a reputation for rubber-stamping the district’s equity and inclusion initiatives.
The five newcomers have made it their mission to recapture the progressive school board and restore education integrity in Guilford. Now, they face the challenge of besting a fusion slate of five Democrats and independents to win the vacant seats on the panel and secure a conservative majority to steer the district’s policies away from critical race theory.
On Wednesday, Deborah DeMusis and George Mack, who have lived in Guilford for decades, filed a complaint with the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission requesting a cease and desist order to halt what they claim to be illegal absentee voting.
Appointed circulator by the town clerk to oversee the strict absentee ballot process, DeMusis first suspected malpractice when she learned that an anonymous individual in the town received an envelope filled with suspect materials. According to DeMusis, the envelope contained a disparaging letter targeting the GOP candidates, an absentee ballot guide directing residents to vote for the Democrats and independents, and an absentee ballot application that was pre-filled with voter information as well as signed, in violation of Section 9-140 of the Connecticut General Statutes.
Moreover, the envelopes that the Democrats and independents sent to voters were unsolicited, another illegality, according to DeMusis and GOP school board candidate Danielle Scarpellino. They said that multiple people came forward with their compromised applications, including the spouse of one of the Republican contenders.
According to Connecticut law, “No candidate, party or political committee, or agent of such candidate or committee shall mail unsolicited applications for absentee ballots to any person” unless they attach a specific compliance warning to the package, which the candidates failed to do. That form details eligibility requirements for and the legality of absentee ballots.
Bill Bluss, the campaign advisor of the pro-CRT fusion slate, also inappropriately signed the bottom of each application, the Republican parents contend. According to DeMusis, someone would only provide their signature to attest that they assisted a voter in filling out their application.
DeMusis estimates that applications, improperly pre-printed with the voter’s name, address, and date of birth, were mailed to thousands of Guilford voters. “I don’t think Bill Bluss went to thousands of households,” she pointed out.
Both Bluss and one of the Independent candidates are attorneys, which Scarpellino believes shows that they were either ignorant of the law or intentionally defied it.
Last, a brochure that looked a lot like a real ballot was included in the envelope, explicitly telling voters with an arrow in red ink to “skip Row B,” the Republican candidates, and only select Rows A and C, for Democrats and independents. A handful of residents reportedly called the town hall “extremely confused” about whether the promotional ballot is the real ballot, DeMusis said.
Given that they comprise about 60 percent of the Guilford electorate, the over 6,000 unaffiliated voters in the town are likely to determine the outcome of the school board general election in November. Any member of the town can vote in that contest as well as cross party lines on the ballot.
“Guilford citizens need to know that they received illegitimate applications. That could have changed their votes. They could have asked, ‘Why should we trust you to manage schools if you can’t even mail the application properly’?,” DeMusis said.
When asked for comment, Bluss replied: “The Connecticut Secretary of State’s office has now made crystal clear that these ballots will be counted, and that our campaign and others rightfully relied on their office’s advice before sending this mailer out. This is nothing but an attempt by Guilford Republicans to throw out valid ballots and disenfranchise voters…”
General counsel in the Connecticut secretary of state’s office issued a statement claiming that a “miscommunication” occurred between the office and the Guilford fusion slate team over a “technical question.”
The issue was over “how exactly a signature from a campaign representative should be affixed to the application led to absentee ballot applications being sent to voters with a signature reproduction rather than an original signature, as Connecticut law requires,” the counsel said.
“Importantly, this is a wholly technical issue, and no election, or voter’s ability to participate, should be affected. Town Clerks across the state, who were diligent in bringing this issue to our attention, have been instructed that these applications that they receive from voters are valid applications and should be processed, and an absentee ballot mailed to the voters.,” the statement added.
However, the counsel did not address the compliance warning document’s absence from the absentee ballot application package, deferring to the state election enforcement commission, a CT watchdog agency that investigates potential complaints of violations.
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